Dynamic projected user interface

ABSTRACT

A dynamic projected user interface device is disclosed, that includes a projector, a projection controller, and an imaging sensor. The projection controller is configured to receive instructions from a computing device, and to provide display images via the projector onto display surfaces. The display images are indicative of a first set of input controls when the computing device is in a first operating context, and a second set of input controls when the computing device is in a second operating context. The imaging sensor is configured to optically detect physical contacts with the one or more display surfaces.

BACKGROUND

The functional usefulness of a computing system is determined in largepart by the modes in which the computing system outputs information to auser and enables the user to make inputs to the computing system. A userinterface generally becomes more useful and more powerful when it isspecially tailored for a particular task, application, program, or othercontext of the operating system. Perhaps the most widely spreadcomputing system input device is the keyboard, which providesalphabetic, numeric, and other orthographic keys, along with a set offunction keys, that are generally of broad utility among a variety ofcomputing system contexts. However, the functions assigned to thefunction keys are typically dependent on the computing context and areassigned often very different functions by different contexts.Additionally, the orthographic keys are often assigned non-orthographicfunctions, or need to be used to make orthographic inputs that do notnecessarily correspond with the particular orthographic characters thatare represented on any keys of a standard keyboard, often only bysimultaneously pressing combinations of keys, such as by holding downeither or any combination of a control key, an “alt” key, a shift key,and so forth. Factors such as these limit the functionality andusefulness of a keyboard as a user input device for a computing system.

Some keyboards have been introduced to address these issues by puttingsmall liquid crystal display (LCD) screens on the tops of the individualkeys. However, this presents many new problems of its own. It typicallyinvolves providing each of the keys with its own Single Twisted Neumatic(STN) LCD screen, LCD driver, LCD controller, and electronics board tointegrate these three components. One of these electronics boards mustbe placed at the top of each of the mechanically actuated keys andconnect to a system data bus via a flexible cable to accommodate theelectrical connection during key travel. All the keys must beindividually addressed by a master processor/controller, which mustprovide the electrical signals controlling the LCD images for each ofthe keys to the tops of the keys, where the image is formed. Such anarrangement tends to be very complicated, fragile, and expensive. Itplaces each of many LCD screens where they must be repeatedly struck bythe user's fingers, posing the likelihood of being cracked. The LCDscreens are flat, thereby preventing the design of concave or otherwiseshaped keypads to help a user's sense of tactile feedback. And theflexible data cable attached to each of the keypads is subject tomechanical wear-and-tear with each keystroke.

The discussion above is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter.

SUMMARY

A dynamic projected user interface is hereby disclosed, in a variety ofdifferent embodiments. According to one illustrative embodiment, adynamic projected user interface device includes a projector, aprojection controller, and an imaging sensor. The projection controlleris configured to receive instructions from a computing device, and toprovide display images via the projector onto display surfaces. Thedisplay images are indicative of a first set of input controls when thecomputing device is in a first operating context, and a second set ofinput controls when the computing device is in a second operatingcontext. The imaging sensor is configured to optically detect physicalcontacts with the one or more display surfaces.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementationsthat solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2A illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2B illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a dynamic projected user interface device, accordingto another illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of one computing environment in which someembodiments may be practiced, according to another illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computing environment in which someembodiments may be practiced, according to another illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a dynamic projected user interface device 10A, accordingto an illustrative embodiment. Dynamic projected user interface 10 maybe illustrative of embodiments that include devices, computing systems,computing environments, and contexts that enable associated methodembodiments and associated executable instructions configured to beexecutable by computing systems, for example. The following discussionprovides further details of an illustrative sampling of variousembodiments. The particular illustrative embodiments discussed below areintended as illustrative and indicative of the variety and broadermeaning associated with the disclosure and the claims defined below.

As depicted in FIG. 1, dynamic projected user interface device 10A isdepicted in a simplified block diagram that includes projector 12,projection controller 20, and imaging sensor 24. Projector 12illustratively includes a laser source 14 in this embodiment. Projector12 also includes collimator 16 in the beam path of laser emitter 14, sothat a laser 19 emitted from laser emitter 14 passes through and iscollimated by collimator 16, in this illustrative embodiment. (FIG. 1 isnot meant to represent the actual optics of dynamic projected userinterface device 10A or the actual path of laser 19, which are readilywithin design choices that may be made within the understanding of thoseskilled in the art. Rather, FIG. 1 demonstrates a simplified blockdiagram to make clear the concepts involved.) Projector 12 may also emitany other kind of electromagnetic radiation, such as from a laser, anLED array, a cathode ray, or other type of source, and in any frequencyrange, including but not limited to visible light, ultraviolet rays,infrared rays, other frequencies, or a combination of any of these.

Laser 19 subsequently follows a beam path into waveguide nexus 32 ofwaveguide 30, which directs it to the surfaces of the keys 41 ofkeyboard 40, such that the surfaces of the keys constitute displaysurfaces for display images provided via projector 12. Coordinate set99A is depicted in the corner, for purposes of correlating the depictionof dynamic projected user interface device 10A in FIG. 1 with additionaldepictions in later figures. Coordinate set 99A shows an X directiongoing from left to right of the keyboard 40, a Y direction going frombottom to top of keyboard 40, and a Z direction going from down to up,“out of the page” and perpendicular to the plane of keyboard 40. In thisembodiment, keyboard 40 does not have any static characters or symbolspre-printed onto any of the surfaces of the keys 41; rather, thesurfaces of the keys 41 are configured to be semi-transparent and toserve as the display surfaces for images that are uniquely provided toeach of the keys 41 via projector 12, images that may also be changed atwill according to the current operating context of an associatedcomputing system.

Lens 22 is disposed adjacent to imaging sensor 24, and is configured toreceive optical signals returned from the surfaces of the keys 41 and tofocus them onto imaging sensor 24. Imaging sensor 24 may illustrativelybe composed mainly of a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)array, for example. It may also be a different type of imager such as acharge-coupled device (CCD), a single pixel photodetector with a scannedbeam system, or any other type of imaging sensor.

Projection controller 20 is configured to receive and operate accordingto instructions from a computing device (not depicted in FIG. 1; seebelow). Projection controller 20 communicates with an associatedcomputing device through communication interface 29, which may include awired interface such as according to one of the Universal Serial Bus(USB) protocols, for example, or may take the form of any of a number ofwireless protocols. Projection controller 20 is also configured toreturn inputs detected through imaging sensor 24 to the associatedcomputing system. The associated computing system may be running any ofa variety of different applications or other operating contexts, whichmay determine the output and input modes in effect at a particular timefor dynamic projected user interface device 10A.

Projection controller 20 is configured to provide one or more displayimages via projector 12 onto surfaces of the keys 41. The display imagesthat are projected are indicative of a first set of input controls whenthe computing device is in a first operating context, and a second setof input controls when the computing device is in a second operatingcontext. That is, one set of input controls may include a typical layoutof keys for orthographic characters such as letters of the alphabet,additional punctuation marks, and numbers, along with basic functionkeys such as “return”, “backspace”, and “delete”, along with a suite offunction keys along the top row of the keyboard 40.

While function keys are typically labeled simply “F1”, “F2”, “F3”, etc.,the projector provides images onto the corresponding keys thatexplicitly label their function at any given time as dictated by thecurrent operating context of the associated computing system. Forexample, the top row of function keys that are normally labeled “F1”,“F2”, “F3”, etc., may instead, according to the dictates of oneapplication currently running on an associated computing system, belabeled “Help”, “Save”, “Copy”, “Cut”, “Paste”, “Undo”, “Redo”, “Findand Replace”, “Spelling and Grammar Check”, “Full Screen View”, “SaveAs”, “Close”, etc. Instead of a user having to refer to an externalreference, or have to remember the assigned functions for each of thefunction keys as assigned by a particular application, the actual wordsindicating the particular functions appear on the keys themselves forthe application or other operating context that currently applies.

Imaging sensor 24 is configured, such as by being disposed in connectionwith the waveguide 30, to receive optical signals coming in the reversedirection in which the display images are being provided by projector12, from the surfaces of the keys 41. Imaging sensor 24 may thereforeoptically detect when one of the keys 41 is pressed. For example,imaging sensor 24 may be enabled to detect when the edges of one of keys41 approaches or contacts the surface of waveguide 30, in oneillustrative embodiment. Because the surfaces of the keys 41 aresemi-transparent, in this embodiment, imaging sensor 24 may also beenabled to optically detect physical contacts with the surfaces of thekeys 41, by imaging the physical contacts through the waveguide 30, inanother detection mode. Even before a user touches a particular key, theimaging sensor 24 may already detect and provide tracking for the user'sfinger. Imaging sensor 24 may therefore optically detect when the user'sfinger touches the surface of one of the keys 41. This may provide thecapability to treat a particular key as being pressed as soon as theuser touches it. Different detection modes and different embodiments maytherefore provide any combination of a variety of detection modes thatconfigure imaging sensor 24 to optically detect physical contacts withthe one or more display surfaces.

Imaging sensor 24 may further be configured to distinguish a variety ofdifferent modes of physical contact with the display surfaces. Forexample, imaging sensor may be configured to distinguish between thephysical contact of a user's finger with a particular key and the keybeing pressed. It may also include, for example, distinguishing if theuser's finger makes sliding motions in one direction or another acrossthe surface of one of the keys, or distinguishing how slowly or howforcefully one of the keys is pressed. Dynamic projected user interfacedevice 10A may therefore be enabled to read a variety of differentinputs for a single one of the keys 41, as a function of thecharacteristics of the physical contact with that display surface. Thesedifferent input modes per a particular key may be used in different waysby different applications running on an associated computing system.

For example, a game application may be running on the associatedcomputing system, a particular key on the keyboard may control aparticular kind of motion of a player-controlled element in the game,and the speed with which the user runs her finger over that particularkey may be used to determine the speed with which that particular kindof motion is engaged in the game. As another illustrative example, amusic performance application may be running, with different keys onkeyboard 40 (or on a different keyboard with a piano-style musicalkeyboard layout, for example) corresponding to particular notes or othercontrols for performing music, and the slowness or forcefulness withwhich the user strikes one of the keys may be detected and translatedinto that particular note sounding softly or loudly, for example. Manyother possible usages are possible, and may be freely used by developersof applications making use of the different input modes enabled bydynamic projected user interface device 10A.

In another illustrative embodiment, the imaging sensor 24 may be lesssensitive to the imaging details of each of the particular keys 41, orthe keys 41 may be insufficiently transparent to detect details ofphysical contact by the user, or plural input modes per key may simplynot be a priority, and the imaging sensor 24 may be configured merely tooptically detect physical displacement of the keys 41. This in itselfprovides the considerable advantage of implementing an optical switchingmode for the keys 41, so that keyboard 40 requires no internalmechanical or electrical switching elements, and requires no movingparts other than the keys themselves. In this and a variety of otherembodiments, the keys may include a typical concave form, in addition toenabling typical up-and-down motion and other tactile cues that userstypically rely on in using a keyboard rapidly and efficiently. Thisprovides advantages over virtual keys projected onto a flat surface, andto keys in which the top surface is occupied by an LCD screen, whichthereby is flat rather than having a concave form, and thereby mayprovide less of the tactile cues that efficient typers rely on in usinga keyboard. Since the up-and-down motion of the keys is detectedoptically, and has no electrical switch for each key as in a typicalkeyboard or electronics package devoted to each key as in some newerkeyboards, the keys 41 of keyboard 40 may remain mechanically durablelong after mechanical wear-and-tear would degrade or disable theelectrical switches or electronic components of other keyboards.

In yet another embodiment, the keys 41 may be mechanically static andintegral with keyboard 40, and the imaging sensor 24 may be configuredto optically detect a user striking or pressing the keys 41, so thatkeyboard 40 becomes fully functional with no moving parts at all, whilethe user still has the advantage of the tactile feel of the familiarkeys of a keyboard.

A wide variety of kinds of keypads may be used in place of keyboard 40as depicted in FIG. 1, together with components such as projector 12,projection controller 20, imaging sensor 24, and waveguide 30. Forexample, other kinds of keypads that may be used with a device otherwisesimilar to dynamic projected user interface device 10A of FIG. 1 includea larger keyboard with additional devoted sections of function keys andnumeric keys; an ergonomic keyboard divided into right and left handsections angled to each other for natural wrist alignment; a devotednumeric keypad; a devoted game controller; a musical keyboard, that is,with a piano-style layout of 88 keys, or an abbreviated version thereof;and so forth.

Dynamic projected user interface device 10A thereby takes a differenttack from the effort to provide images to key surfaces by means of alocal LCD screen or other electronically controlled screen on every key,each key with the associated electronics. Rather than sending electricalsignals from a central source to an electronics and screen package ateach of the keys, photons are generated from a central source andoptically guided to the surfaces of the keys, in this illustrativeembodiment. This may use light waveguide technology that can conveyphotons from entrance to exit via one or more waveguides, which may beimplemented as simply as a shaped clear plastic part, as an illustrativeexample. This provides advantages such as greater mechanical durability,water resistance, and lower cost, among others.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict the same dynamic projected user interface device10A as in FIG. 1, but in different views, here labeled as 10B and 10C,according to one illustrative embodiment. FIG. 2A includes coordinateset 99B, while FIG. 2B includes coordinate set 99A as it appears in FIG.1, to indicate that dynamic projected user interface device 10A isdepicted in the same orientation as in FIG. 1, although in a cutaway(and further simplified) version in FIG. 2B to showcase the operation ofwaveguide 30. FIG. 2A is also intended to demonstrate further theoperation of waveguide 30, from a side view. As indicated by coordinateset 99B, the view of FIG. 2A corresponds to the X direction, from leftto right side of keyboard 40, going “into the page”, perpendicular tothe view of this figure; the Y direction, indicating bottom to top ofkeyboard 40, is here going from right to left; and the Z direction,indicating the direction perpendicular to the plane of keyboard 40, ishere going from down to up. Analogously to the depiction of FIG. 1,dynamic projected user interface device 10B, 10C includes a projector12B, a projection controller 20B, an imaging sensor 24B, a waveguidenexus 32, and a communication interface 29B, in an analogous functionalarrangement as described above with reference to FIG. 1.

Waveguide 30 includes an expansion portion 31 and an image portion 33.Expansion portion 31 has horizontal boundaries 38 and 39 (shown in FIG.2B) that diverge along a projection path away from the projector, andvertical boundaries 34 and 35 that are substantially parallel. Imageportion 33 has vertical boundaries 36 and 37 that are angled relative toeach other. Projector 12B is positioned in interface with the firstwaveguide section 31, by means of waveguide nexus 32. Waveguide nexus 32is a part of waveguide 30 that magnifies the images from projector 12Band reflects them onto their paths into expansion portion 31, asparticularly seen in FIG. 2B. The image portion 33 is positioned ininterface with the display surface of the keyboard 40, such that raysemitted by the projector 12B are internally reflected throughout theexpansion portion 31 to propagate to image portion 33, and aretransmitted from the image portion 33 to the keys 41, as furtherelaborated below.

As FIG. 2B demonstrates, waveguide 30 is substantially flat, and taperedalong its image portion 33. Waveguide 30 is disposed between the keypad40 at one end, and the projector 32 and imaging sensor 24B at the otherend. Waveguide 30 and its boundaries 34, 35, 36, 37 are configured toconvey rays of light or another electromagnetic signal, such asrepresentative projection ray paths 19A and 19B, with total internalreflection through expansion portion 31, and to convey the images bytotal internal reflection through a portion of image portion 33 asneeded before directing each ray in an image at upper boundary 36 at anangle past the critical angle, and which may be orthogonal or relativelyclose to orthogonal to the surfaces of keys 41, to cause the rays totransmit through upper boundary 36 to render visible images. Thecritical angle for distinguishing between internal reflection andtransmission is determined by the index of refraction of both thesubstance of waveguide 30 and that of its boundaries 34, 35, 36, 37.Waveguide 30 may be composed of acrylic, polycarbonate, glass, or otherappropriate materials for transmitting optical rays, for example. Theboundaries 34, 35, 36 and 37 may be composed of any appropriate opticalcladding suited for reflection, while boundary 36 includes a number ofdiscontinuities for inclusion of the keys 41 as display surfaces, whichmay be semi-transparent and diffuse, in this illustrative embodiment, sothat they are well suited to forming display images that are easilyvisible from above due to optical projections from below, as well asbeing suited to admitting optical images of physical contacts with thekeys 41, in this illustrative embodiment. The surfaces of keys 41 mayalso be coated with a turning film, which may ensure that the imageprojection rays emerge orthogonally to the key surfaces. The turningfilm may in turn be topped by a scattering screen on each of the keysurfaces, to encourage visibility of the display images from a widerange of viewing angles. In another embodiment, optical fibers may beused to transmit optical signals along at least part of waveguide 30,for example.

As a further advantage of these embodiments, the entire keyboard 40 maybe detached at waveguide nexus 32 and easily washed. Keyboards ingenerally notoriously tend to get dirty over time, but are inconvenientto wash, and in traditional keyboards, have electrical switchesassociated with each of the keys. This becomes more of an issue withefforts to make keyboards with a screen and associated electronicspackage associated with individual keys. On the contrary, keyboard 40has no electrical components, and, once detached at waveguide nexus 32,can easily have cleaning solution applied to it or even be submerged incleaning solution, without any electrical components to be concernedabout. Keyboard 40 may thereby easily be washed, dried, and reattachedat waveguide nexus 32, thereby enabling a user to conveniently keep acleaner keyboard. Alternately, projector 12B, projection controller 20B,imaging sensor 24B, and communication interface 29B may all be enclosedwithin a watertight chamber. The lack of electrical components in thebody of keyboard 40 also means that any accidental spill of a liquidonto keyboard 40 will not pose a threat to it, as it would to atraditional keyboard or a keyboard with a local screen and associatedelectronics at individual keys.

As another advantage, the keys 41 may be associated with a tray that maybe removed from the top of keyboard 40, so that the surface of keyboard40 may then become a single display. The entire single display may alsotrack lateral stroke direction to enable multiple input modes dependingon different directions or characteristics of the user's finger strokes.

Projector 12B may project a monochromatic laser, or may use a collectionof different colored lasers in combination to create full-color displayimages on keys 41 or keyboard 40, in an illustrative embodiment. Fullcolor may also be achieved by using a violet laser for projector 12B,and using photoluminescent materials to alternately scale down theenergy of the violet laser to provide a full color spectrum in theimages projected onto keys 41 or keyboard 40, in another illustrativeembodiment.

Projector 12B may also include a position sensing emitter that emitsparallel to the image projection emitter. The position sensing emittermay be a non-visible form of light such as an infrared laser, forexample, and the imaging sensor may be configured to image reflectionsof the infrared light as they are visible through the surfaces of thekeys 41. This provides another illustrative example of how a user'sfingers may be imaged and tracked in interfacing with the keys 41, sothat multiple input modes may be implemented for each of the keys 41,for example by tracking an optional lateral direction in which thesurfaces of the keys are stroked in addition to the basic input ofstriking the keys vertically.

Because the boundaries 34, 35 of expansion portion 31 are parallel andthe boundaries 36, 37 of second waveguide section are angled relative toeach other at a small angle, waveguide 30 is able to propagateprojections provided by projector 12B from a small source, through asubstantially flat package, to form images on a broad array of imagingsurfaces such as the keys 41 of keyboard 40, and to convey images fromthat broad array back to imaging sensor 24B. Waveguide 30 is thereforeconfigured, according to this illustrative embodiment, to enable imagingsensor 24B to convey images provided by projector 12B onto the surfacesof keys 41 (only a sampling of which are explicitly indicated in FIG.2A), as well as to detect physical displacement of the keys 41. Thespecific details of the embodiment of FIGS. 2A and 2B are exemplary anddo not connote limitations. For example, a few other illustrativeembodiments are provided in the subsequent figures.

FIG. 3A depicts another illustrative embodiment of a dynamic projecteduser interface device 310A, which is also depicted under the label 310Bfrom a different view in FIG. 3B. Dynamic projected user interfacedevice 310A/310B uses a pair of two waveguides 330, 331, with upperwaveguide 331 stacked on top of lower waveguide 330, and each used toproject images onto a separate half of keyboard 340. This provides a wayto prevent the form factor of the keyboard 340 from having bulkyportions outside the region of the keys 431, 342, by putting theexpansion portions 335, 338 underneath the keyboard 340.

One projector 312, projection controller 320, imaging sensor 324, andcommunication interface 328 are operatively connected to waveguide nexus332 and thereby to lower waveguide 330, while another projector 313,projection controller 321, imaging sensor 325, and communicationinterface 329 are operatively connected to waveguide nexus 333 andthereby to upper waveguide 331. Expansion portion 335 of lower waveguide330 lies underneath image portion 337 of upper waveguide 331, whileexpansion portion 338 of upper waveguide 331 lies on top of imageportion 336 of lower waveguide 330. Keyboard 340 is laid on top of upperwaveguide 331. Keyboard 340 has keys 341 (a representative sample ofwhich are indicated with reference number 341) on the left side thereof,and keys 342 on the right side thereof (again, a representative sampleof which are indicated with reference number 342).

Upper waveguide 331 is thereby enabled to convey images projected byprojector 313 through expansion portion 338 to image portion 337 and onto the surfaces of keys 341 on the left side of keyboard 340,illustratively indicated by the representative projection ray paths 319Aand 319B. Lower waveguide 330 is similarly enabled to convey imagesprojected by projector 312 through expansion portion 335 to imageportion 336; as these images are projected out the top of image portion336, they then pass entirely through expansion portion 339 of upperwaveguide 331, and on to the surfaces of keys 342 on the right side ofkeyboard 340, illustratively indicated by the representative projectionray paths 319C and 319D. Although the horizontal boundaries of expansionportion 339 of upper waveguide 331 are strongly diverging, the verticalboundaries thereof are planar and parallel, and the projection ray pathsof the images projected through lower waveguide 330 may be directedsubstantially orthogonally to the lower vertical boundary of expansionportion 339 of upper waveguide 331 or otherwise configured such thatthese projection ray paths pass through expansion portion 339 of upperwaveguide 331 to form the intended images on the surfaces of keys 342 onthe right side of keyboard 340. The timing for the projection of theimages out projector 312, connected with lower waveguide 330, may bedelayed a small amount (roughly on the order of tenths of nanoseconds,in one illustrative embodiment) relative to the projection of the imagesout projector 313 connected with upper waveguide 331, to compensate forthe additional distance traveled before intersecting the surfaces ofkeys 342, analogously to a delay curve of the projection of theindividual image portions from each of projectors 330, 331, or otherprojectors in other embodiments, as a function of the distance eachimage portion must travel before intersecting the key surfaces (roughlyon the order of nanoseconds, in one illustrative embodiment). In otherembodiments, these delays may not be implemented, without anysignificant impact on the desired precision of performance.

FIG. 4 depicts yet another illustrative embodiment of a dynamicprojected user interface device 410, which uses a waveguide 430 that isfolded over onto itself, thereby providing another way to prevent theform factor of the keyboard 440 from having bulky portions outside ofthe area of keys 441, by putting the expansion portion 445 underneaththe keyboard 440. This folded-over approach could be used with a singleprojector covering the whole keyboard in one embodiment, or with two ormore multiple projectors with corresponding expansion and image portionscovering different sections of a keyboard, in other embodiments. Indynamic projected user interface device 410, projector 412, projectioncontroller 420, imaging sensor 424, and communication interface 428 areoperatively connected to waveguide nexus 432 and thereby to expansionportion 445 of waveguide 430. Waveguide 430 also includes a transitionportion 446 connected to expansion portion 445, and then image portion447 connected to transition portion 446, along the projection path awayfrom the projector. Keyboard 440 is laid on top of image portion 447.The projection ray paths (illustratively indicated by sample projectionray paths 419A and 419B) for an image projected by projector 412 arethereby enabled to intersect the surfaces of keys 441 (a representativesample of which are indicated with reference number 441).

Projector 12B of FIGS. 2A, 2B, projectors 312, 313 of FIGS. 3A, 3B, andprojector 412 of FIG. 4 provide projection ray paths that form images onthe keys by passing underneath them through the waveguides and strikingthe keys from below. In other embodiments, the images can be provided tothe image surfaces from above. An example of this is provided in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 depicts a dynamic projected user interface device 510 accordingto another illustrative embodiment that incorporates projection fromabove. Analogously to the depictions above, dynamic projected userinterface device 510 includes a projector 512, a projection controller520, an imaging sensor 524, and a communication interface 529, in ananalogous functional arrangement as described above with reference toFIG. 1. Projector 512 is disposed above keyboard 540, which serves as adisplay surface, at a substantially low angle. Projector 512 mayillustratively include a laser emitter, for example. Projector 512 isthereby configured to provide dynamically generated images onto keyboard540, including orthographic characters and indicators of function keys,that are determined by the particular application or other operatingcontext of an associated computing system that is communicativelyconnected with dynamic projected user interface device 510 throughcommunication interface 529. Imaging sensor 524 includes a camera, inthis embodiment, that is configured to capture and transmit opticalimages of the keyboard 540 and adjacent surfaces, and to detect anyphysical contacts with any of the keys of keyboard 540, and/or to detectwhen any of the keys of keyboard 540 are pressed.

Dynamic projected user interface device 510 is also configured to useadditional, ambient surfaces off of keyboard 40 as additional displaysurfaces, as can be seen in the case of virtual numberpad 543. Whileprojector 520 projects some rays 519A onto keyboard 540 to providedisplay images there, it also projects other rays 519B onto an ambientspace from a portion of desktop 599 adjacent to keyboard 540, to provideadditional input interface space. Virtual numberpad 543 is just oneillustrative example of additional user interface images that can beprojected onto any available ambient display surfaces, while imagingsensor 524 is equally capable of monitoring this additional userinterface space such as virtual numberpad 543 and detecting physicalcontacts with the user interface images projected there that correspondto a user physically contacting or pressing on the surface at a locationcorresponding to a projected key, or whatever other form the ambientuser interface space may take.

Among the advantages of such a projected, virtual user interface spaceis that it avoids taking up space on a user's workspace or adding bulkto a user's hardware, particularly for mobile devices, while addingadditional user interface space on an as-needed basis. It may includeany number of projected, virtual user interface spaces of any variety,for example, which may be projected on either or both sides of keyboard540.

While a numberpad is depicted in FIG. 5, other virtual user interfacespaces may include a media player, a game control console, anotheralphabetic keyboard, a musical keyboard, or a cursor control panel, forexample, or any combination of these and other possible user interfaces.All of these projected user interfaces may be dynamically generated inaccordance with an application currently being executed by an associatedcomputing system, or any other type of computing context currentlyengaged on an associated computing system.

In order to provide display images to each of a large number of keys andother display surfaces, projector 520 may, for example, use a spatiallight modulator, in one illustrative embodiment; or two-dimensionalholographic projections, in another embodiment; or one or more laseremitters configured to project the display images in a rasterizedscanning beam format, in another illustrative embodiment.

In one illustrative embodiment, projector 512 may be configured to emita non-visible form of light, such as ultraviolet light, and at leastsome of the display surfaces comprise a composition adapted to re-emitvisible light responsively to absorption of the non-visible light. Thismay be particularly useful to prevent the potential distraction of thelight projected from projector 520 shining on the user's fingers whenthe user is striking keys on keyboard 540. For example, projector 540may emit ultraviolet rays onto the keys of keyboard 540, while the keysinclude a composition that is adapted to re-emit light at visiblefrequencies responsively to absorption of the non-visible light. Suchcompositions may include phosphors, optical brighteners, quantum dots(composed for example with cadmium sulfide), or any of a wide variety ofother substances that fulfill this function.

In order to prevent display images on keyboard 40 from being shadowed bya user's fingers, the keys of keyboard 40 may also include a compositionthat is further adapted to re-emit the visible light with a prolongedemission time, so that momentary occlusion of the light being projectedonto one of the display surfaces will not prevent the display image fromcontinuing to appear. The latency period for the prolonged emission maybe selected so that display images will persist for longer than thetypical time a user might have her fingers in a given position over partof the keyboard during normal usage, but not so long as to interferesubstantially with a subsequent dynamically generated image, when theimage configuration for that key is reassigned. This may be in partaddressed by a means for selectively dispersing a persistently latentimage, such as by digital light processing, for example.

Projector 512 may also include ultraviolet emitters for projecting ontokeyboard 540, in addition to visible light emitters for projecting ontoan ambient display surface, which may not be ideally configured forreflecting easily visible light in response to emission of ultravioletor other non-visible light. In another embodiment, a user may be enabledto test and select from a variety of types of emitted light for thedisplay images, so that the user is free to select ultravioletprojections for ambient surfaces that interact well with ultravioletprojections, or to select a visible frequency of her preference.

Some components of dynamic projected user interface device 510 may belocated separately from keyboard 540, such as imaging sensor 524, forexample. Keyboard 540 may also include one or more positioning referencetransmitters, for example on the corners thereof and in a non-visibleoptical frequency such as infrared, that may be tracked by imagingsensor 524 and used to reference the position and orientation ofkeyboard 540. Imaging sensor 524 may use this positioning reference tocontinue directing its imaging at the relevant positions of the keys 541on keyboard 540 as keyboard 540 moves relative to imaging sensor 524.

FIGS. 6 and 7 provide additional illustrative demonstration of a dynamicgenerated user interface. FIG. 6 depicts a dynamic projected userinterface device 610 according to another illustrative embodiment, thatconstitutes a standalone numeric keypad. Analogously to the depictionsabove (and depicted here as a simplified block diagram), dynamicprojected user interface device 610 includes a projector 612; aprojection controller 620; an imaging sensor 624; a waveguide 630,configured to convey the display images from projector 612 onto thebottom surfaces of keys 641 of keyboard 640, and to convey opticalimages of user contact with keys 610 back to imaging sensor 624; and acommunication interface 629, configured to provide a communicativeconnection with an associated computing system that providesinstructions to and receives input from dynamic projected user interfacedevice 610, in an analogous functional arrangement as described withreference to the other embodiments, above.

In the state in which it is depicted in FIG. 6, dynamic projected userinterface device 610 includes display images for a fairly conventionallayout for a numeric keypad, such as might be the initial default inwhich it starts out beginning when the operating context of theassociated computing system includes the operating system and backgroundprocesses and system tray functions running, but no active applicationsbeing executed. This layout may persist as the default when some otherapplications are opened by a user. Other applications may be configuredso that when they are opened, they quickly reconfigure the layout of theof keypad dynamic projected user interface device 610 as a matter ofcourse, to provide input interface functionalities special to thatapplication. Some applications, or the operating system itself, or otheroperating context of the associated computing system, may also enableuser-configurability for dynamic projected user interface device 610.

FIG. 7 depicts dynamic projected user interface device 610B, as aversion of dynamic projected user interface device 610 that has beenenabled for user configurability, in an illustrative layout reflectingpotential reconfigurations and reassignments of the display images andcorresponding functionalities that have been selected by a user. Theuser in this case has reassigned various keys 641B on the keypad 640Bwith the symbol for degrees; currency symbols for cents, British pounds,Japanese yen, and euros; a section symbol; the Greek letters “mu” and“beta”; the Old English letters “thorn” and “aesc”; a letter “c” with acédille, i.e. “ç”, as used for example in French for a letter “c”pronounced with an “s” sound; an “enter” key, now in a differentlocation; symbols for registered trademark, trademark, and copyright; afew keys left blank; a sampling of vowels with diacritics that mayrepresent accent marks or Chinese tones; and keys assigned for certainfunctions, in particular, “save”, “undo”, and “redo”.

The user has thereby reconfigured the keypad 640B of the dynamicprojected user interface device 610B for her convenience, including byreconfiguring keys for orthographic characters as function keys and viceversa; and the reassignment inputs entered by the user were interpretedby the particular application at hand to provide instructions throughcommunication interface 629 to dynamic projected user interface device610, which thereby dynamically generated the new key display imagesaccordingly. At the same time, the application reorders theinterpretation of the inputs sensed by imaging sensor 624 to correspondto inputs in accordance with the display images in current display onthe keys 641B.

The user, or another application or computing context, may laterreconfigure the state of keypad 640B yet again by dynamically generatingadditional new display images and reconfiguring the interpretation ofinputs on those keys accordingly. The examples in FIG. 7 are only asmall sampling of possible reconfigured keys of a dynamic projected userinterface device. Other operating contexts may include, for example, amath or physics modeling application, which provides options forassigning mathematical functions to the keys on keypad 640; apresentation application that provides options for clipart icons to beassigned to the keys on keypad 640; or a word processing program, whichalters the fonts of the letters and other orthographic characters asthey are displayed on a keyboard in accordance with a font selectedwithin the word processing application; while many other possibleexamples are readily apparent from the configurations that naturallysuggest themselves for any type of application or computing context.

The applications and their operating environments that may be used insuch a way are further described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.Software that includes computer-executable instructions for implementingsuch a system may be stored on a medium such as a hard drive, an opticaldisc, a flash drive, etc., and may be available to a computing system ona local bus, a network connection, and so forth. The software mayconfigure a computing system to project user interface display imagesonto display surfaces. The user interface display images may beselectable from several user interface display images dependent on acontext of the computing system, such as an application, an operatingsystem, a network connection status, etc. The computing system may thendetect physical contacts with the one or more display surfaces while theone or more user interface display images are projected thereon, andinterpret the physical contacts with the user interface display imagesas user inputs associated with the context of the computing system.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment100 on which various embodiments may be implemented. For example,various embodiments may be implemented as software applications,modules, or other forms of instructions that are executable by computingsystem environment 100 and that configure computing system environment100 to perform various tasks or methods involved in differentembodiments. A software application or module associated with anillustrative implementation of a dynamic projected user interface may bedeveloped in any of a variety of programming or scripting languages orenvironments. For example, it may be written in C#, F#, C++, C, Pascal,Visual Basic, Java, JavaScript, Delphi, Eiffel, Nemerle, Perl, PHP,Python, Ruby, Visual FoxPro, Lua, or any other programming language. Itis also envisioned that new programming languages and other forms ofcreating executable instructions will continue to be developed, in whichfurther embodiments may readily be developed.

According to one illustrative embodiment, computing system environment100 may be configured to perform collocation error proofing tasks inresponse to receiving an indication of a word collocation in a text.Computing system environment 100 may then perform a Web search for eachof one or more query templates associated with the indicated wordcollocation. Various query templates used may include a sentence, areduced sentence, a chunk pair, and/or an individual word pair, any ofwhich may include the word collocation. Computing system environment 100may then evaluate whether results of the Web search for each of thequery templates indicates that the word collocation corresponds tonormal usage, or whether it is disfavored or indicative of likely error.Normal usage may be indicated by either an exact match of the querytemplate comprising the sentence, or a matching score that is largerthan a preselected threshold. The system may then indicate, as part ofthe output of computing system environment 100 via a user-perceptibleoutput device as a result of an embodiment of a collocation errorproofing method, whether the word collocation corresponds to normalusage, or is disfavored and is indicated to be erroneous usage.

Computing system environment 100 as depicted in FIG. 8 is only oneexample of a suitable computing environment for executing and providingoutput from various embodiments, and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the claimedsubject matter. Neither should the computing environment 100 beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any oneor combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operatingenvironment 100.

Embodiments are operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with various embodimentsinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers,hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, telephonysystems, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

Embodiments may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Someembodiments are designed to be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules are located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices. As describedherein, such executable instructions may be stored on a medium such thatthey are capable of being read and executed by one or more components ofa computing system, thereby configuring the computing system with newcapabilities.

With reference to FIG. 8, an exemplary system for implementing someembodiments includes a general-purpose computing device in the form of acomputer 110. Components of computer 110 may include, but are notlimited to, a processing unit 120, a system memory 130, and a system bus121 that couples various system components including the system memoryto the processing unit 120. The system bus 121 may be any of severaltypes of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of busarchitectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architecturesinclude Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro ChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video ElectronicsStandards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.

Computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer readable media.Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby computer 110 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatileand nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can be accessed by computer 110. Communication media typicallyembodies computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier waveor other transport mechanism and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one ormore of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131and random access memory (RAM) 132. A basic input/output system 133(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within computer 110, such as during start-up, istypically stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically contains data and/orprogram modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presentlybeing operated on by processing unit 120. By way of example, and notlimitation, FIG. 8 illustrates operating system 134, applicationprograms 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137.

The computer 110 may also include other removable/non-removablevolatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 8 illustrates a hard disk drive 141 that reads from or writes tonon-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 151that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 152,and an optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to a removable,nonvolatile optical disk 156 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storagemedia that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include,but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards,digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solidstate ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 141 is typically connectedto the system bus 121 through a non-removable memory interface such asinterface 140, and magnetic disk drive 151 and optical disk drive 155are typically connected to the system bus 121 by a removable memoryinterface, such as interface 150.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed aboveand illustrated in FIG. 8, provide storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputer 110. In FIG. 8, for example, hard disk drive 141 is illustratedas storing operating system 144, application programs 145, other programmodules 146, and program data 147. Note that these components can eitherbe the same as or different from operating system 134, applicationprograms 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137. Operatingsystem 144, application programs 145, other program modules 146, andprogram data 147 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, ata minimum, they are different copies.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 110 throughinput devices such as a keyboard 162, a microphone 163, and a pointingdevice 161, such as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices(not shown) may include a joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner,or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit 120 through a user input interface 160 that is coupledto the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and busstructures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus(USB). A monitor 191 or other type of display device is also connectedto the system bus 121 via an interface, such as a video interface 190.In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheraloutput devices such as speakers 197 and printer 196, which may beconnected through an output peripheral interface 195.

The computer 110 is operated in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer180. The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, a hand-helddevice, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other commonnetwork node, and typically includes many or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the computer 110. The logical connectionsdepicted in FIG. 8 include a local area network (LAN) 171 and a widearea network (WAN) 173, but may also include other networks. Suchnetworking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connectedto the LAN 171 through a network interface or adapter 170. When used ina WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes amodem 172 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN173, such as the Internet. The modem 172, which may be internal orexternal, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user inputinterface 160, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110, orportions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. Byway of example, and not limitation, FIG. 8 illustrates remoteapplication programs 185 as residing on remote computer 180. It will beappreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers may beused.

FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of a general mobile computingenvironment, comprising a mobile computing device and a medium, readableby the mobile computing device and comprising executable instructionsthat are executable by the mobile computing device, according to anotherillustrative embodiment. FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of a mobilecomputing system 200 including mobile device 201, according to anillustrative embodiment. Mobile device 201 includes a microprocessor202, memory 204, input/output (I/O) components 206, and a communicationinterface 208 for communicating with remote computers or other mobiledevices. In one embodiment, the afore-mentioned components are coupledfor communication with one another over a suitable bus 210.

Memory 204 is implemented as non-volatile electronic memory such asrandom access memory (RAM) with a battery back-up module (not shown)such that information stored in memory 204 is not lost when the generalpower to mobile device 200 is shut down. A portion of memory 204 isillustratively allocated as addressable memory for program execution,while another portion of memory 204 is illustratively used for storage,such as to simulate storage on a disk drive.

Memory 204 includes an operating system 212, application programs 214 aswell as an object store 216. During operation, operating system 212 isillustratively executed by processor 202 from memory 204. Operatingsystem 212, in one illustrative embodiment, is a WINDOWS® CE brandoperating system commercially available from Microsoft Corporation.Operating system 212 is illustratively designed for mobile devices, andimplements database features that can be utilized by applications 214through a set of exposed application programming interfaces and methods.The objects in object store 216 are maintained by applications 214 andoperating system 212, at least partially in response to calls to theexposed application programming interfaces and methods.

Communication interface 208 represents numerous devices and technologiesthat allow mobile device 200 to send and receive information. Thedevices include wired and wireless modems, satellite receivers andbroadcast tuners to name a few. Mobile device 200 can also be directlyconnected to a computer to exchange data therewith. In such cases,communication interface 208 can be an infrared transceiver or a serialor parallel communication connection, all of which are capable oftransmitting streaming information.

Input/output components 206 include a variety of input devices such as atouch-sensitive screen, buttons, rollers, and a microphone as well as avariety of output devices including an audio generator, a vibratingdevice, and a display. The devices listed above are by way of exampleand need not all be present on mobile device 200. In addition, otherinput/output devices may be attached to or found with mobile device 200,such as dynamic projected user interface 269.

Mobile computing system 200 also includes network 220. Mobile computingdevice 201 is illustratively in wireless communication with network220—which may be the Internet, a wide area network, or a local areanetwork, for example—by sending and receiving electromagnetic signals299 of a suitable protocol between communication interface 208 andwireless interface 222. Wireless interface 222 may be a wireless hub orcellular antenna, for example, or any other signal interface. Wirelessinterface 222 in turn provides access via network 220 to a wide array ofadditional computing resources, illustratively represented by computingresources 224 and 226. Naturally, any number of computing devices in anylocations may be in communicative connection with network 220. Computingdevice 201 is enabled to make use of executable instructions stored onthe media of memory component 204, such as executable instructions thatenable computing device 201 to implement various functions of dynamicprojected user interface 269, in an illustrative embodiment.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims. As a particular example, whilethe terms “computer”, “computing device”, or “computing system” mayherein sometimes be used alone for convenience, it is well understoodthat each of these could refer to any computing device, computingsystem, computing environment, mobile device, or other informationprocessing component or context, and is not limited to any individualinterpretation. As another example, while some embodiments are depictedand described with one or two projectors and associated components, anynumber of projectors can be used in other embodiments, with theirassociated components, and configured to provide display images each totheir own portion of one or more display surfaces, or to overlappingportions of one or more display surfaces. This may include top-down orbottom-up projections, or a combination of the two, and may includewaveguides disposed between any or all of the individual projectors andtheir respective display surfaces, and with any combination ofpurpose-built display surfaces such as a keyboard or keypad, or ambientdisplay surfaces. As yet another particular example, while manyembodiments are presented with illustrative elements that are widelyfamiliar at the time of filing the patent application, it is envisionedthat many new innovations in computing technology will affect elementsof different embodiments, in such aspects as user interfaces, user inputmethods, computing environments, and computing methods, and that theelements defined by the claims may be embodied according to these andother innovative advances while still remaining consistent with andencompassed by the elements defined by the claims herein.

1. A device comprising: a projector; a keypad comprising one or morekeys; a waveguide comprising an image portion having a first surfaceforming a first boundary of the image portion and a second surfacespaced apart from the first surface and forming a second boundary of theimage portion, wherein the first and second surfaces of the imageportion converge along a projection path from the projector and areconfigured to reflect rays of electromagnetic radiation by internalreflection through a first portion of the image portion to a secondportion of the image portion, and wherein the one or more keys have afirst key surface facing the second portion of the image portion and asecond key surface opposite the first key surface; a projectioncontroller, configured to receive instructions from a computing deviceand to provide one or more display images via the projector onto one ormore display surfaces, the one or more display surfaces comprising thesecond key surface of one or more of the keys, the waveguide beingdisposed between the projector and the one or more display surfaces andthe waveguide comprising an expansion portion with boundaries thatdiverge along the projection path away from the projector, the projectorbeing positioned in interface with the expansion portion and the imageportion being positioned in interface with the one or more displaysurfaces, such that rays emitted by the projector are internallyreflected throughout the expansion portion and are transmitted from theimage portion to the one or more display surfaces, the waveguideincluding a waveguide nexus configured to reflect images from theprojector onto respective image paths in the expansion portion, theprojector being positioned adjacent the waveguide nexus and configuredto project the images directly to the waveguide nexus, and wherein thedisplay images are indicative of a first set of input controls when thecomputing device is in a first operating context, and a second set ofinput controls when the computing device is in a second operatingcontext; and an imaging sensor, configured to optically detect physicalcontacts between an object and the one or more display surfaces.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the keypad comprises at least one of akeyboard, a numeric keypad, a game controller, and a musical keyboard.3. The device of claim 1, wherein the imaging sensor is disposed inconnection with the waveguide and configured to detect physical contactswith the one or more display surfaces by imaging the physical contactsthrough the waveguide.
 4. The device of claim 1, further comprising oneor more additional projectors and waveguides, such that each of thewaveguides is disposed between one of the projectors and a portion ofthe one or more display surfaces.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein theprojector is configured to emit non-visible light, and the one or moredisplay surfaces comprise a composition adapted to re-emit visible lightresponsively to absorption of the non-visible light.
 6. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the projector is configured to emit non-visible light,and wherein the imaging sensor is configured to obtain images fromreflections of the non-visible light through the one or more displaysurfaces.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the projector comprises aspatial light modulator, and one or more laser emitters configured toproject the display images in a rasterized scanning beam format.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, further configured to detect a plurality of differentmodes of physical contact with the one or more display surfaces, suchthat a plurality of different inputs are enabled for a single one of thedisplay surfaces, as a function of characteristics of the physicalcontact with that display surface.
 9. A device comprising: a keypad,comprising one or more displaceable keys; an imaging sensor configuredfor entering input to a computing system; a substantially flat, taperedwaveguide disposed between the keypad and the imaging sensor, thewaveguide configured to enable the imaging sensor to detect physicaldisplacement of the one or more keys by imaging at least a portion ofthe one or more keys, the keys including at least a partiallytransparent portion such that the imaging sensor is further configuredto detect physical contact with the keys and to convey to the computingsystem a plurality of characteristics of the physical contact with thekeys, thereby enabling a plurality of different inputs for each of thekeys as a function of the characteristics of the physical contact; and aprojector operatively connected to an output interface of the computingsystem, the projector being configured for dynamically generating imagesas a function of output from the computing system, and projecting thedynamically generated images through the waveguide and onto the one ormore keys.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more keyscomprise a plurality of keys disposed on at least a portion of thekeypad, the portion of the keypad being disposed adjacent the firstsurface of the image portion, wherein the plurality of keys are arrangedon the portion of the keypad in a direction of the projection path andthe first and second surfaces of the image portion are configured todirect rays of electromagnetic radiation, emitted from the projector,along at least a portion of the projection path and onto each of theplurality of keys.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or morekeys comprise a plurality of keys arranged on the keypad in a pluralityof rows, wherein the image portion is configured to direct rays ofelectromagnetic radiation, emitted from the projector, along theprojection path and onto a number of keys in each of the plurality ofrows.
 12. A device comprising: a projector; a keypad comprising one ormore keys having a first key surface facing a waveguide and a second keysurface opposite the first surface; a projection controller configuredto receive instructions from a computing device and to provide one ormore display images via the projector onto one or more display surfaces,the one or more display surfaces comprising the second key surface ofone or more of the keys, wherein the display images are indicative of afirst set of input controls when the computing device is in a firstoperating context, and a second set of input controls when the computingdevice is in a second operating context; and an imaging sensorconfigured to optically detect physical contacts between an object andthe one or more display surfaces, and further configured to detect aplurality of different modes of physical contact with the one or moredisplay surfaces, such that a plurality of different inputs are enabledfor a single one of the display surfaces, as a function ofcharacteristics of the physical contact with that display surface. 13.The device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of different modes ofphysical contact comprise at least one mode in which at least one of theplurality of keys is stroked in a lateral direction across the secondsurface of the at least one key, and at least one mode in which the atleast one key is physically displaced in a direction toward thewaveguide.
 14. The device of claim 12, wherein the keypad comprises aplurality of keys disposed on at least a portion of the keypad, andwherein the waveguide comprises: an image portion having a first surfaceforming a first boundary of the image portion and a second surfacespaced apart from the first surface and forming a second boundary of theimage portion, the first and second boundaries converging along aprojection path away from the projector, wherein the plurality of thekeys have a first key surface facing the image portion and a second keysurface opposite the first surface, and wherein the image portion isconfigured to direct rays of electromagnetic radiation, emitted from theprojector, along the projection path and onto each of the plurality ofthe keys.
 15. The device of claim 1, wherein the first portion of theimage portion is configured to reflect rays of electromagnetic radiationwith total internal reflection and the second portion of the imageportion is configured to direct rays of electromagnetic radiation to thefirst surface of the image portion at an angle past a critical angle.16. The device of claim 9, wherein each of the one or more keys of thekeypad have a first surface facing the waveguide and a second surfaceopposite the first surface, and wherein the waveguide is configured toenable the imaging sensor to detect physical contact with the secondsurface of the one or more keys and to detect physical displacement ofthe one or more keys, thereby enabling a plurality of different inputsfor each of the one or more keys.